Hernandez pleads guilty to assaulting law enforcement officer

A Madison man will be sentenced in November after pleading guilty to assaulting a law enforcement officer in an incident at a Madison convenience store just more than a year ago.  35-year-old Benjamin Hernandez was scheduled to go on trial on multiple assault charges in connection with the September 2020 incident Monday, but instead changed his plea as part of a plea agreement.  Hernandez pleaded guilty Monday to one count of Aggravated Assault against a Law Enforcement Officer and also to being a habitual offender, with other charges being dismissed as part of the plea agreement. 

State’s Attorney Wendy Kloeppner said that Hernandez was in a vehicle with a shotgun at Classic Corner in Madison on September 30th of 2020 and the vehicle was surrounded by law enforcement officers.  She said that while Hernandez was in the vehicle, he pointed the shotgun at one of the law enforcement officers.  As part of the habitual offender information, Kloeppner said that Hernandez had previously been convicted of a felony charge of Ingesting a Controlled Substance in Lincoln County, also in September of 2020.  

Aggravated Assault against a Law Enforcement Officer is a Class 2 Felony which carries a maximum sentence of up to 25 years in the state penitentiary and a fine of up to 50-thousand dollars.  Circuit Judge Pat Pardy said that by pleading guilty to the habitual offender information, Hernandez’s maximum possible sentence is enhanced.  

Judge Pardy ordered a pre-sentence investigation be completed and scheduled Hernandez’s sentencing for November 12th.  Hernandez remains in custody in the Lake County Jail.